[2] It lies at the southwest end of Hughes Bay, on the Danco Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, on the west side of Graham Land.

[3] Murray Island has been known to seal hunters operating in the area since the 1820s, although it was shown on charts as part of the mainland.

[1] A 98 hectares (240 acres) ice-free site on the western side of a small peninsula on the northern coast of the island was designated the Bluff Island Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because, in 1989, it supported a breeding colony of about 180 pairs of Antarctic shags (Phalacrocorax Atriceps Bransfieldensis).

First charted by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (BelgAE) under Lieutenant Adrien de Gerlache (1897-99) and at the time considered to be joined to Graham Land.

Named by Gerlache, presumably for Sir John Murray, British marine zoologist and oceanographer, an ardent advocate of Antarctic research.